Moving Up Living Down
by unwashedwonder
Summary: domestic!smosh AU in which Anthony goes to live with his best friend, Ian, and Ian's boyfriend, David. kalanthony. iancorn.
1. Talk is Cheap

**woo another album based book.**

**kalanthony mainly, with iancorn. i'd split it maybe 60:40 or 55:45 over all.**

**based off Moving Up Living Down by Eric Hutchinson**

* * *

Talk is Cheap

"The flight has landed in Sacramento, California. Enjoy your stay."

Anthony grabbed his things and smiled at the flight attendant as he walked out. He saw a girl whose suitcase wheel got stuck on something, and she was struggling to get it out.

He walked over to her, "Need any help?"

She looked up, brushing her hair from her face, "Oh, yes please!"

He smiled at her and gave the suitcase a good tug.

"No!" She frowned, swatting his hands away, "I have valuable clothes in there. Please be careful."

Anthony normally would've rolled his eyes at all the cute girls who are concerned about their outfits all the time, but something was different about this one. He didn't know if it was her teal colored hair, her eyes, or the way she didn't oggle at him like most girls did.

"I know you mean well, but do you know how much of a mess you could make if my clothes went flying all over the room?" She crossed her arms.

He shook his head, grinning, "The wheel is stuck. Nothing in your bag is going to go flying out."

She blinked, "Well, could you please help me get it unstuck?"

Anthony looked at her and held his hand out, "Anthony Padilla."

"Kalel Cullen." She shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw several messages from Ian.

_running late so sorry_

_david was held up at his stupid work, hes an asshole, i know_

_David was held up at his important work where he makes money to satisfy living with Ian and he is most definitely not an asshole._

_david sent that last message if you couldnt tell he's being a complete douchenugget and you should know youre lucky to not know him yet_

_we're stuck in the traffic that david fucking moss didnt warn me about so itll be a good twenty or so minutes til we get there_

_sorry_

_blame david when you meet him_

"You have a lot of messages…." Kalel noted, "Not that I'm actually reading them, I just saw."

Anthony shrugged, "My friend Ian is running late. He's going off about some David guy he's been dying to introduce me to."

"David?" She grinned, "Ian? You can't mean Ian Hecox and David Moss, can you?"

He frowned and checked his phone, looking for the text with David's last name, "Yeah. What about them?"

"I work with David." She answered, "The local news channel."

Anthony nodded, "How do you know Ian?"

"He's…." She stifled a laugh, "He's a really good friend of Ian's. I'll let Ian introduce you guys. Hang on. David said he'd pick me up from the airport."

Anthony frowned and checked his phone. He had gotten several more messages.

_we're also taking this girl from david's work_

_ps you're going to love david he's awesome_

_that was also david by the way. i give him my phone for two seconds while i'm driving and he sends that_

Anthony looked up at Kalel before texting Ian quickly, _if you're driving, maybe you shouldn't be texting_

_david's doing most of the texting for me because he's the best ever_

_also, ian is being dangerous and texting during traffic but technically we arent really moving so i guess it's okay?_

Anthony pocketed his phone and turned to Kalel, "Still need help with that suitcase?"

Kalel looked relieved, "Yes please."

* * *

Ian turned to David, "We're going to have to tell him, you know."

"I know." David put his hands up, "I was the one who came up with the idea. You're the worried one."

"Came up with the idea?" Ian rolled his eyes, "David, Anthony's living with us. He would've found out eventually."

"I know." David repeated, "Why are you telling me all this? It's what I've been saying to you all week."

He shrugged, "Look, you know I love you, right?"

David nodded, "Of course I know that."

"I think we should tone down the couple stuff completely until we tell Anthony." Ian frowned, "Which we'll do after we drop Kalel off."

"Fine." David crossed his arms, "I'll keep my hands to myself."

"I wish you wouldn't."

He leaned across the unzip Ian's pants, "C'mon. We're stuck in traffic. Might as well have fun, right?"

* * *

"Where are they?" Kalel frowned, "They've got to be here somewhere."

"Ian said he'd be here in twenty minutes….thirty minutes ago." Anthony sighed.

Anthony saw the all too familiar car drive up. Ian seemed to be yelling at the man in the car with him, and he could barely make out what it was.

"Let go let go let go!" Ian swatted at the other man, "We're here."

Kalel's eyes were wide and Anthony could see she was trying not to laugh.

Ian adjusted something out of Anthony's sight and rolled the window down, "Always room for one more."

"There's two of us." Kalel grinned.

Ian looked at the man, "What do you say, should we let them both in?"

The man looked up at Anthony, "Yeah, we should. It would be the polite thing to do."

"Alright then." Ian sighed, "Both of you, get in. I popped the trunk so you can put your shit in there."

Anthony sat behind the other man so he could talk to Ian more easily.

"Who's your friend, Ian?" Kalel grinned, "You should introduce him to Anthony."

Ian glared at her through the rear view mirror before looking at Anthony, "Well, this is David. He lives with me."

David seemed to be busy wiping his hand on his jeans, "Hey. I'll be properly introduced later. When we're not in the car."

* * *

Ian frowned and pulled David aside, "Lunch with Kalel was not on the menu today."

David made a face, "Was that some kind of pun?"

"No." Ian was exhausted, "Look, we'll tell Anthony when we get home, okay? Then you can do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want, huh?" David raised an eyebrow.

"Not….whatever you want-oh, you know what I meant!" He hit David playfully before going to sit with Anthony and Kalel at the only outside table.

As they were waiting for their food to arrive, David grabbed hold of Ian's phone, looking through pictures on it. Ian watched him, smiling, until he opened up the messages.

"Nooooo!" Ian reached for his phone.

David held it above his head, trying to get it out of reach. Ian desperately kept trying to get his phone back, but David was always just a little out of reach until finally, Ian grabbed David's wrist above his head. Their faces were inches apart and he was breathing heavily after freaking out over David reading his messages.

Ian did the only thing he thought necessary. He pulled David down into a kiss. David set Ian's phone on the table and wrapped his arms around him.

"Ha!" Ian grinned, pulling away and grabbing his phone, "I win."

Anthony stared at him, "What the hell just happened?"

Ian frowned, "Shit."

Kalel was grinning.

David shrugged, "Ian, you've got to tell him. He's your friend."

"Yeah, but…." Ian sighed, "If you couldn't tell, David's my boyfriend."

"How long has this been a thing?" Anthony asked.

David and Ian looked at each other.

"Uh…." Ian scratched his chin, "A year and a half almost. When was it….spring break, senior year of college?"

"Senior year college for me." David shrugged, "Junior year for you."

"That." Ian nodded, "It was literally your cheesy spring break romance where we fucked like every night and-"

"Ian," Anthony grinned, "I accept you fully for this, but please, don't go into detail. Even if you were straight, I wouldn't want to hear it."

Ian rolled his eyes, "I'll tell you the story later. It's complicated."

"Ian, we fucked and then I told you I wanted to date you and you said yes." David looked at him, "That's really not that complicated."

Ian crossed his arms, "Way to ruin all my fun."

After lunch, Kalel and Anthony talked while David and Ian were busy with each other. Anthony ended up really liking Kalel, and he couldn't wait to see her again.

She gave him her number before getting out of the car at her house.

"Dude." Ian looked back at Anthony, "You just scored big time."


	2. Best Days

Best Days

Anthony got up in the morning to the sound of expensive shoes scuffling against the wooden floor. He had to sleep on the couch until he and Ian were done rearranging the basement for him to live in permanently. He opened his eyes and saw keys being flung across the room.

Their owner caught them and pocketed them with a small clatter of metal on metal. Anthony sat up. Ian was by the front door and David was rushing around.

"I can't believe you didn't set the alarm." David muttered.

Apparently Ian had heard him, because he spoke out, "Hey. To be fair I was a bit occupied, okay? It's not exactly easy to remember to set the alarm when I have a horny adult trying to climb up on me, alright? Just be lucky you have your voice this time. I know you didn't the last few times."

"I need my voice, Ian. You know that. I was only upset about that because I have to be loud. It's a huge part of my job."

"What do you do?" Anthony asked.

"Well, he does me, that's for sure." Ian grinned.

"I meant occupation." Anthony rolled his eyes at him before turning to David.

"Supervising producer over at the news station. My friend Josh just called in sick so now not only do I have to supervise, I have to take his spot as traffic guide."

"Is that going to be an issue?" Anthony frowned, "Let me help."

"If you can change within the next five-"

Anthony grabbed a shirt, some pants, socks, and shoes and gathered them in his arms, "Done. I'll change in the car."

Ian frowned, "That's not fair. You can't change in the car with my boyfriend."

"I can and I will." Anthony winked at him, "You know I mostly just want to see Kalel, right?"

"You're not actually getting a job just because you filled in one day." David turned to Anthony when they were in the car and Anthony was dressed, "You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that." He nodded, "I just thought it would be fun. Beats playing guitar in the streets."

"Is that what you used to do?" David started driving.

Anthony shrugged, "Mostly. I had a few side jobs, but the guitar thing made me a lot of money. I'd play in bars and restaurants sometimes, but mostly just the streets. What did you do before this?"

David smiled, "I was the intern for a while, and then they bumped me straight up to where I am now, which is a significant jump for such a short time. I make a lot of money, though. Ian barely has to pull a job and we make it through easily."  
"Does Ian even have a job?" Anthony laughed at the thought of Ian doing anything that required a uniform.

"He does stand up comedy at bars sometimes, but mainly, no, he doesn't." David shrugged, "The only point of a job is to make money and have something to occupy your time, right?"

Anthony nodded, "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm bringing in the money, and he occupies his time….somehow." He took one hand off the steering wheel to make the motion of jerking off.

Anthony laughed, "I'm sure that's exactly what he does when you leave him home alone."

"I can't really blame him; I totally pamper him with handjobs all the time." David grinned.

"Don't tell me that." He rolled his eyes, "Is that why you guys were so late yesterday?"

David shook his head, "Not really. If it was any part of the reason at all, only at the very end."

"The very end?"

"As in….as we pulled up to you guys."

"That's what that was?" Anthony raised an eyebrow, "Oh shit. Didn't even realize."

David grinned, "I'll spare your poor eyes and ears and not give them out as often. I promise."

Anthony sighed, "I still can't believe I didn't hear anything last night."

"We're quiet. We've been trained. Ian's parents stayed with us for a week, followed by my parents staying with us for a week. I made some excuse to sleep on Ian's floor, and obviously I didn't." David shook his head, laughing, "Most interesting two weeks of my life."

"What did you guys do to prepare?"

"I said that I moved all my clothes into Ian's room so they could put theirs in mine." He shrugged, "Of course, my clothes have always been in his room."

Anthony nodded, "Makes sense. How did you two get a house together? Ian just graduated this year, right?"

"In the spring, yeah." David nodded, "It was awesome. We threw a big party and-"

"Don't want to hear about your sexual journeys with my best friend." Anthony made a face, "As much as I like you, and as mucha s I support you, I don't want to hear about anyone's sex stories."

"So tell me, what was Ian like in high school?" David grinned.

"Well," Anthony chuckled, "he was into girls."

Surprise made its way across David's face, "He was?"

"Really into girls." Anthony nodded.

David let out a low whistle, "Really? How so?"

"He was that guy who hit on every girl who was pretty." Anthony shrugged, "He was still a good guy though, just a bit odd."

"Did he have a girlfriend?"

"Just a few. No more than four."

David nodded, "I can't imagine Ian being straight."

"I couldn't imagine him being gay." Anthony replied, "I'm okay with it, I just couldn't imagine it. It never crossed my mind."

"Kalel told me she was egging you on about it."

"She just said that you guys were really good friends, that's all."

He grinned, "That sounds like her. You should really talk to her today. I'm pretty sure she's into you."

"I hope she is."

David shrugged, smiling, "Ask her out on our lunch break."

"Our?"

"Well, you're my guest." David parked in the parking lot, "You have my lunch break."

"You have a nice spot."

"Well, I am the supervising producer, so yeah, I get a good spot."

"That's awesome."

"Isn't it?" David pocketed his keys before walking inside.

* * *

Ian sighed and drummed his fingers along the couch. He was bored out of his mind. Nothing good was on TV, no one else was home, and he couldn't go down to the basement because it was slowly becoming Anthony's room.

He decided to surprise David at work. It wasn't something Ian did often, but it was done enough times that everyone knew him. Then again, he had asked David to introduce him to everyone. It was easy to get there. He parked a few blocks away so it wouldn't cost anything, and he made it through security okay, so he headed up to David's office.

In it, there was a woman. David looked just as bored as Ian was earlier. She was obviously hitting on him. To Ian, it seemed more like she was begging for careless sex in payment for a promotion. He didn't like her one bit, but that was most likely due to the fact that she was flirting with his boyfriend. She didn't seem slutty, just determined to get what she wanted. Ian was sure he would have found her to be a nice woman had he not found her hitting on David, but because that is exactly how he found her, he was pitted against her.

"Knock knock." He said, rapping his knuckles against the door, which was already open.

David jumped and Ian knew he was recognized by his voice alone. David turned to look at Ian, clearly surprised.

"Can I help you?" He said softly.

Ian came and sat on his desk, spreading his legs apart, "Yes, you can."

"I'm actually busy with someone right now, can I help you later?" David frowned.

"I suppose you can do that." Ian sighed.

David ran his hands up and down Ian's thighs, "My lunch break is in about fifteen minutes."

"How long does it last?" Ian shivered under David's touch.

"About twenty."

"That's all the time I need. Make sure your desk is cleared off all excess items. I'm gonna lay you down so hard." Ian grinned and winked at David before hopping off the desk and heading out to find Anthony.

David stared at him, "Ian, I'm not clearing off my desk. Do you know how much time that would take? Plus, this room isn't soundproof."

"We're quiet."

"Ian, I have a guest in here with me, so I'm going to have to ask you to kindly leave the room." David sighed, "I don't want to, but I have to."

"See you in fifteen minutes." Ian waved.

He waited outside the room to listen in to David speaking to the woman.

"Who was he? An intern who's trying to have sex with you just for a promotion?" She asked.

David shook his head, "He's my boyfriend, actually."

The girl walked out of the room a few minutes later.

* * *

"Hey, Kalel." Anthony smiled at her, "I was thinking maybe we could go grab some lunch during your break. You have the same one as David, right?"

She nodded, "Yes. I usually eat with him, but I saw Ian walk through here earlier, so I doubt we'll see either of them. They'll probably be in the storage room as usual."

"Great. So….lunch date?"

"Date?" Kalel smiled, "Really?"

Anthony nodded, "Well, if you want to. If not, we can just go as friends." He looked down, "Either one sounds okay honestly, but I'd rather it be a date."

"No, no, I like the date idea."

That made him feel really weird -in a good way- inside.

To Anthony's surprise, Ian and David weren't in the storage room. In fact, nothing about either of them seemed askew at all. The two were sitting not too far from Anthony and Kalel, but far enough so that they couldn't hear each other.

Anthony was constantly distracted by the two of them. He had never seen Ian act like this before; it was totally new. Ian would feed David french fries, and he would happily accept being fed a few back. They laughed every few seconds and everyone around them seemed to know they were together, for no one gave them weird looks or even a second look. It was so weird to Anthony; it was like Ian had changed without letting Anthony know.

The biggest shock to Anthony was how much Ian touched David, and how much he welcomed the touches back. They were friendly, light touches that only lasted a few seconds at a time. In high school, Ian hadn't been like this. Ian wasn't a huge fan of touching, and often shut people out.

"Hey?" Kalel waved a hand in front of Anthony's face, "You okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

She turned around, following his eyes, "Oh. Them. They make the rest of us feel like shit whenever they're at lunch and not in the storage room."

"Ian is so different…." Anthony shook his head, "He's the still mostly the same guy from high school, but some things have changed. I don't know what happened."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kalel frowned.

"What?"

"He fell in love."

* * *

"Ian, let go. That's my last fry." David warned.

Ian ignored him and popped it in his mouth, smiling at him.

"You didn't." David crossed his arms.

Ian swallowed the fry, "I did."

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Noooo…." Ian grinned, "You wouldn't make me do that."

"I'm actually quite tempted to, honestly."

"No, baby, don't do that to me."

"Too bad." He grinned, snagging one of Ian's fries.

"I deserve to get the bed back for that one."

David rolled his eyes, "Fair enough. But only if I eat it, you know? Maybe I won't."

"Let's Lady and the Tramp it." Ian's eyes lit up.

"Is it even long enough to-"

Ian grabbed the fry and bit into his side of it, holding it out for David, who rolled his eyes and leaned in to bite the other end, kissing Ian in the middle.

"That was really romantic." Ian leaned against David's side, pulling David's arm around him.

"Oh yeah." David grinned, "Real romantic. Would've been better with spaghetti, but still good."

"We've done that with spaghetti before, haven't we?" Ian played with David's fingers.

He nodded, "Yeah, it was at one of the lame frat parties you invited me to last year."

"I was not a frat boy." Ian frowned, "I just had a lot of friends that were."

"Same difference."

"I still can't believe you moved to California just to be with me." Ian sighed happily.

"Of course I did."

"We'd been dating for a month and a half." Ian wiggled out of David's grip so he could face him, "And you moved halfway across the country to be with me."

David shrugged, "I liked you a lot."

Ian smiled, "I'm glad you did. I would've probably dated some lame girl senior year, or maybe even worse, a frat boy. Do you know how cool it made me to be dating someone out of college already?"

David nodded, "Yeah, I remember you telling me about your sudden increase in friends. Apparently you forgot to tell them it was a dude."

"I didn't forget to tell them. I just didn't." Ian shook his head, "But it's not because I was ashamed, I mean, they found out later anyway-"

"Hey guys."

Ian looked up and saw Anthony and Kalel.

"Uh, hi." He smiled weakly, "What's up?"

"We just noticed you guys and thought we'd come say hi." Kalel smiled back.

Ian frowned, "What are you two like dating now or something?"

"We might be."

"Might be?" David raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

"Yes." Kalel rolled her eyes, "It means yes. Besides, I'm pretty sure that's the answer you gave me when I jokingly asked you if you were dating Ian."

"I told you that like a year ago."

"Yeah, but I hadn't even met him since he was still in school." Kalel shrugged, "I only had pictures and voicemails to draw my information from."

"You showed her my voicemails?" Ian's eyes widened, "David! Half of those were me being a horny college kid and trying to get in contact with you for phone sex; you better not have shown her those."

"I heard the beginning few seconds by accident, but nothing more." Kalel grinned, "I have to say, it would be some blackmail if I could get a hold of it."

"Yeah, well, my phone's in my front pocket, so you'll have to fight Ian for a chance to put your hand near my dick to grab it." David shook his head, "But seriously, please don't do that. He'll kill you."

"Don't do it." Anthony grinned, "I bet it's not even-"

"It's huge." Ian stared him dead in the eye.

"That's not even what I was going to say." Anthony made a face, "I was going to say that I bet it's not even worth it, I have a shit ton more dirt on you than that."

"You wouldn't." Ian glared.

"I might. If provoked." Anthony added.

"You wouldn't."

"One time, Ian-"

"Shut up!" Ian frowned, "David, take me back home."

"I can't exactly do that, Ian. I have to work."

"Fine. I'm out of here. You people stink. And Anthony, just remember, I still have all those pictures from that dare in high school." Ian winked.

"You wouldn't." Anthony frowned.

"Oh, I would." Ian waved his hands around in an attempt to be dramatic before leaving the building.


	3. The Basement

**sorry for not updating in a while friends, i had a new fic idea that i wrote the first few chapters of. its more of a rom com type thing, and i might post it after this, or when hail to the thief ends in a few chapters**

* * *

The Basement

"Finally. My own place. On a separate floor." Anthony cheered, "No more awkward, covered up sex grunts for this guy!"

Ian rolled his eyes, "Just be happy it only took a week."

"Only took a week?" Anthony laughed, "That's a long time."

"Not as long as it could've been had I not prepared ahead of time." Ian shrugged and bent over to fix the pillow on Anthony's bed, "But alright, all we need is-"

"What's that?" Anthony frowned, "Look, dude, I didn't mean to look at your butt, but you practically shoved it in my face and there is definitely something there."

Ian's eyes widened, "Shit! Do you think David's seen it?"

"Seen what?" Anthony asked, "You still haven't-"

"Fuck. I bet he's seen it. This is awful. Goddammit he's probably seen it…."

"Ian, David's not even home."

This seemed to relieve Ian.

"Seriously, tell me what the fuck is going on here please." Anthony looked at his best friend, "It's really suspicious."

"I…." Ian sighed, "No telling anyone, got it?"

Anthony nodded.

"This." Ian pulled a tiny box from his pocket and tossed it in Anthony's direction.

When Anthony opened it and looked inside, he really wasn't sure why Ian had thrown the box at him. He was happy for Ian, but, as his friend, he had to give him warning.

"Are you sure about this?"

"About what?" Ian turned around, smiling at him.

"About….you know…." Anthony held up the box, "This."

"Asking David to marry me?" Ian raised an eyebrow, "Yeah. I'm totally sure about it. Why?"

"And you've been dating for how long?"

"A year and a half." Ian made a face, "I think."

Anthony nodded, "Alright. If you think you're ready for this."

"I am." Ian crossed his arms, "What? You don't like David or something?"

"No, I like him. He's a good guy, but it's just….you're barely out of college, and you're ready to give him everything."

"I love him, Anthony." Ian frowned, "And if you can't deal with me being-"

"Ian, I know you love him." Anthony sighed, "And just because I have my doubts about marriage doesn't mean I hate you because you're gay, so you can stop pulling the gay card, okay? That is literally never going to be the reason I'm against you, so don't even suggest it."

"Then what is it?"

"My parents got married young, and divorced shortly after. You know that."

Ian's expression fell, "I…."

"So I'm just worried that you're going to be hurt, just like my mom was." Anthony shook his head, "And I'm not trying to discourage you from proposing today, but-"

"Today?" Ian raised his eyebrows, "Oh, hell no."

"Then why have you been carrying it around?"

"I bought it this morning. I didn't want a bag, that would look suspicious, you know?" Ian shrugged, "Look, if I get hurt, I give you full permission to say I told you so, but I'm not planning on asking him until around Christmas."

"For Christmas?" Anthony looked at Ian.

He nodded, "Yeah. Something like that. Is that a bad idea?"

Anthony shook his head, "No, that's really cute. Are you going to wrap it up or something?"

Ian smiled, "Hey, that's smart. I should go do that…."

"Ian, chill, it's not even Thanksgiving yet."

"Yeah, but it will be in a few weeks."

"That reminds me. David said he was going back to Ohio for Thanksgiving, are you going with him?" Anthony asked.

* * *

Ian frowned, "Oh, um, no. I'm not."

"You sound upset." Anthony took a step closer.

"Sometimes, I feel like David's ashamed of me and doesn't want his family to meet me." Ian sighed, "But that's probably just a stupid thought."

"Did you go with him last Thanksgiving?"

Ian shook his head, "No."

Anthony frowned, "Any holidays at all?"

"No."

Closing his eyes, Anthony took a deep breath, "That really does sound like he doesn't want you to meet them."

"Does it really?"

"I'm home!"

Ian groaned, "Fuck. Well, time to go talk to him. Can I leave the ring down here?"

Anthony nodded.

Ian smiled and tucked it in one of the drawers, "Thanks. Wish me luck."

"With what?"

He shrugged, "Getting him in bed. Convincing him to make dinner. Ever so sweetly asking him to get up early tomorrow and make us breakfast."

Anthony rolled his eyes, "I'm not wishing you good luck."

* * *

When Anthony got upstairs about ten minutes later, he found David and Ian, both looking slightly pissed. They were talking about something, but Anthony couldn't make out what. He wondered if Ian had brought up that he felt David was ashamed of him.

"Hey, guys?" Anthony waved, regretting bringing anything up.

"Oh, hey Anthony." David nodded before turning back to Ian, "Tomorrow night, I promise."

"You promise?"

"I promise." He smiled, kissing him quickly.

David stood up and crossed the room, heading to the kitchen. Anthony gave Ian a questioning look. He made an 'O' with one hand and stuck the pointer finger of his other hand in and out of it, grinning. Anthony made a face, understanding.

Ian must not have understood that Anthony got it, because he told him straight up, "I'm getting laid tomorrow night."

"Yeah, Ian, I got that much." Anthony stared at him blankly, "Thanks for clarifying."

"Just making sure you know." Ian held his hands up in defense before walking over to David and wrapping his arms around him, "Hey. Guess what?"

David turned around, smiling, "What?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ian." He pulled Ian in close, holding him tightly.

Anthony rolled his eyes, "Where's Kalel?"

"At work." David looked at him, still holding Ian.

"Why aren't you at work?"

"I got off early. Matt is looking to work the job with me, so they're letting him test it out." He shrugged, "Plus, I wanted to come home and surprise Ian."

Ian looked at David like he and Anthony had not just gone over how he felt that David was ashamed of him. He gave him the most loving look he could have had.

"I'm inviting Kalel over."

"Ask her to bring a movie. We can all watch one." David smiled.

"You will try anything to get out of having sex with me." Ian huffed.

"That's not true."

"Then why-"

"Because tomorrow is a good night to do it. It'll be a rough day at work and I'll need some kind of stress reliever. I know those are your favorites."

Ian smiled, "Fair enough."

Anthony loved Ian to death as his best friend, but he simply could not take the amount of PDA he had to live with every single day.

"Shut up about your sex life."

"I'm sorry." Ian frowned.

"It's fine, I'd just rather you not say anything about it outloud while I'm in the room."

"I won't."

"Thank you."

"So, when's Kalel coming over?"

"I'm not sure. Sometime within the next half hour." Anthony checked his phone.

"Alright, well, I'd better start making dinner."

Ian sat on the counter, "Just order pizza or something."

"Now why would we waste good money or ordering pizza when I could just make you a homemade pizza in thirty minutes."

"Because it will get here in ten."

"I thought you loved my cooking."

"I do love your cooking." Ian smiled, "But I also love when food gets here faster."

"Fine." David sighed, "I'll go order pizza."

"You're the best. I love you." Ian hugged him tightly.

Kalel got there while David was on the phone. She and Anthony had been going out for a week, but he hadn't kissed her yet. He had plans to tonight, but he was nervous. He had kissed plenty of girls before, but for some reason, Kalel was different. She made him feel different.

When the pizza arrived, they all sat down on the couch. Well, sort of. Ian sat in David's lap, but technically, still on the couch. Kalel had her legs draped over Anthony's, and his arm was around her shoulders.

They had finished one movie and were taking a break before starting the next when it happened. Anthony was beginning to feel a little left out when Ian winked at him before dragging David into a deep kiss and making everything more dramatic than it had to be.

Whatever Ian was doing, it seemed to work magic, because David picked him up and carried him off to their room.

"Should we play a movie?" Kalel asked, "I don't want to hear them. I've already seen it, and I don't think hearing would help."

"You what?" Anthony wasn't sure how to feel.

"Well, it's not exactly the most pleasant thing when you walk in on someone butt fucking your boss during the middle of work."

"David's your boss?"

Kalel nodded, "You didn't know that? Technically he's in charge of everyone. He's the supervising producer. They don't call it supervising for nothing."

"No they don't!" David's voice rang from the other room.

"Shut up and let me-" Ian's voice was drowned out by something, and Anthony could only assume his mouth was pressed somewhere else.

"So, we should probably play that movie now, huh?" Kalel turned to him.

"They're unusually quiet, but yeah, sure." Anthony nodded, "We can do that."

"Thanks." Kalel moved her legs so Anthony could get up, but she put them back when he returned.

Anthony was too distracted by Kalel to even notice the movie. He was too nervous to make a huge deal out of it, so when she looked up at him, he leaned in and kissed her. He felt her smile and he almost laughed, he was that happy about it.

They continued to have short, little kisses throughout the movie, and by the time it was done, Anthony was completely comfortable and in no way nervous anymore. He felt great. He was on top of the world, and he loved it. Of course, he knew he'd be anxious about taking it to the next level.

* * *

Ian turned to face David, "That was nice."

"That was nice." David agreed.

He kissed him quickly, "Should we return to them or just wait it out until the end of the night?"

"I'm pretty satisfied here, honestly." David smiled, "I could lay here forever with you."

"Sadly, we'll have to get up in order to-"

"We don't need to get up. We can just stay here all night."

"David, we're naked."

"Yeah, and? We've slept naked before."

"What if I have to pee really really bad?" Ian looked at David with big eyes, trying to sway his idea.

"Dammit just go get dressed." David rolled his eyes, snatching his boxers up off the ground and putting them on.

"Wait, David, no…." Ian whined softly, stretching his arms out to grab him.

"Too late." He grinned, getting up, "I'm already out of your reach."

"I'll get you next time." Ian grumbled.

"Good luck with that." David laughed, "I'm going to check on our love birds. You go pee since you have to so badly."

Ian pouted as he pulled his boxers on, "Get back in bed."

"I'll be back for round two in a few minutes."

Ian got up out of bed and wrapped his arms around David's neck, pressing their bodies close, "Round two?"

David grinned, "Yeah, we'll go at it again."

"I know what round two means." Ian frowned, forgetting to be sexy for a few seconds before returning back to it, "But I think you should just get back in bed with me now."

"Ian, I have to go check on them."

"No you don't." Ian kept a firm grip on David and walked backward until he was up against the bed.

"Yes I do." David sighed, removing Ian's arms from around his neck.

"Why don't you care about me anymore?" Ian blurted, not meaning to let his feelings out.

David froze, standing still for what felt like forever.

Ian couldn't take the silence anymore, "I….I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It was blurted out there."

"Ian…." David looked at him, "Don't ever say that again. You know I love you. You know I'm always going to be there for you. You know I care about you now, and you know I'm still going to care about you the day you die."

Ian felt a lump form in his throat, "I know."

"I love you, Ian." David ran his hands up and down Ian's arms, "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Ian mumbled, being quiet not because he didn't mean in, but because he was still upset about letting his feelings out in such a rush.

David pulled Ian in for a long hug, and they stayed like that, just holding each other close, for a long time before Ian pulled away to give David a quick kiss.

"Do you still want to check on them?" Ian asked.

"Not if it means leaving you, no."

"No, David, go check on them. I'm not offended."

"I'd really rather not." David shook his head.

Ian opened his mouth to speak, but David put a finger over Ian's lips.

"Sh. Don't say anything, okay?" David smiled, "Just let me kiss you and prove to you how much I love you."

"If you're idea of proving to me how much you love me is pounding me into the mattress, I'm up for it." Ian grinned.

"Actually, it was cuddling with you and holding you all night long, but that one works too."**  
**


	4. The People I Know

**I really wanted to post this sooner, but I also REALLY don't want to post the next chapter because, well, you'll see I guess. I don't really like it very much, but I'll probably post it either later today or tomorrow.**

**ps LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM IT KICKS ASS**

* * *

Best Days

"Get up!"

"Ian!" Anthony yelled, pulling the covers up over himself, "What the hell?"

"Get up. We have to go to the airport."

"What for?" He grumbled, grabbing a pair of sweatpants, only to have Ian swat them away, "Hey!"

"Put real pants on. We're going to the airport."

"Yeah, but why?" Anthony frowned.

"David's coming home from Ohio."

"I forgot that your asshole of a boyfriend left you behind and didn't introduce you to his family…."

Ian sighed, "Don't say that. Come on, we'll go get him, and then tonight we can go to that fancy schmancy dinner restaurant David keeps going on about. A double date for one month."

"You planned out my one month mark with Kalel?" Anthony smiled.

"Actually, my asshole of a boyfriend set it up." Ian frowned, seemingly trying to make a point that David was not an asshole, "He's got reservations and he's paying and everything."

"What a gentleman." Anthony rolled his eyes, "Anyway, can I take a quick shower? Don't we pick him up at noon?"

"Yeah, but it's eleven."

"I slept in that late?" Anthony ran his fingers through his hair, "I'll be quick, I promise."

Ian nodded, "Fine. Go quickly."

When Anthony was done, he called Kalel while he got dressed.

"Hey it's you." Kalel laughed.

"It's me!" Anthony grinned, "How are you?"

"I'm doing pretty well, what about you?"

Anthony shrugged into an undershirt, "I'm alright."

"Something wrong?"

"Ian woke me up while I was still tired. We've got to go get his ass-we've got to go get David." Anthony didn't want to bring up the issue to Kalel, and he figured if she had heard his stumble, he could play it off because there's a million and one things he knew Ian did that was related to David's ass.

"I see. Any other plans?"

"Um….yeah. Dinner tonight. You, me, David, and Ian."

"Who are you talking to when you should be getting ready?" Ian yelled.

Anthony buttoned up a flannel before putting shoes on and rushing upstairs to the main floor, "Kalel."

"What?" She asked.

"I was just-" Anthony shook his head, "Never mind. Ian says hi."

"No I don't." Ian frowned, shoving a bagel in Anthony's hands before pushing him out the door.

"Don't be rude."

"I'll be as rude as I want." Ian continued to push Anthony to the car.

"Alright, I'm sorry, Kalel, but Ian's going to kill me pretty soon, so I've got to go. I'll call you back later. I'm leaving the house when David gets back home." He frowned, "Ian was on the phone with him and said that they was going to make him be loud. I'll call you when we get back, okay?"

"Sounds good. Have fun. Good luck with them probably trying to fuck in the backseat." Kalel laughed, "I'll call you back later. Bye!"

"Bye." Anthony smiled, hanging up.

"How's Kalel?" Ian asked, pulling out of the driveway, "Is she doing well?"

Anthony nodded, "Yeah, she's alright. I'm excited about our one month mark."

"Yeah, that sounds awesome." Ian smiled, "I remember when David and I celebrated that." He chuckled, "That was weird….It was fun, actually. We had dinner at this place near my college, and then I took him back to my dorm while my roommate was out and-"

"Stop right there." Anthony groaned.

"We cuddled all night, Padilla. Not what you think." Ian smiled.

"Well, I'm excited for you to see him again."

"I thought you hated him."

Anthony shook his head, "I don't hate him. I just think he should realize what an awesome person he has and tell his family how proud of him he was."

"He's proud of me." Ian pulled into the airport parking lot, "He's told me before."

"He should tell his family."

* * *

"David!" Ian cried, running up to him and wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him hard, "I missed you."

"I missed you so much." David smiled, dropping his luggage to kiss Ian back.

Anthony rolled the window down, "Get back in the car."

"Excuse me, we were having a moment." David sighed, kissing Ian's cheek and picking his bags back up, "But fine, I'll get in the car."

He put his bags in the trunk and got in the backseat with Ian.

Ian looked at David and fell in love all over again. He loved this feeling, and he got it whenever they made eye contact. He felt like his insides melted, and he didn't care how girly it felt, he just loved being with David. He kissed him gently, and David set his hands on Ian's cheeks, pulling him in for a deeper kiss.

"I missed you." He mumbled against David's lips.

"I missed you too." David ran his thumb across Ian's cheek, "We should never spend that much time apart."

"Maybe you should bring me with you next time." Ian muttered, keeping his voice low.

"I'm sorry, Ian." David frowned, "I told you, I don't think my family is ready for that yet."

Ian nodded, "I know. I'm sorry. I feel ready. I know that you aren't, and I shouldn't be putting this on you so much. I'll stop."

"No, Ian, it's okay." David smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

It often upset Ian that David was never ready to tell either of their families that they were together, and he really wanted to now, especially since Christmas was so close. He wanted to be able to send his family cute pictures of he and David on Christmas morning, the way his family sent him cute pictures of them and their significant others. It made him jealous, but then again, all of his family was heterosexual. They said they weren't homophobic, but Ian was worried that just meant with other people. He was worried they'd judge him for being with a man.

He was quiet on the ride home, clutching onto David's hand tightly. He watched as David played with his fingers. Nobody said much. The radio was there to play music so the silence wasn't too awkward. Ian would catch Anthony's eyes in the rear view mirror and smile at him occasionally, but he was glad when they finally got home and he and David wouldn't be restricted in their reuniting.

Anthony dropped them off and let them stay at home in peace. He didn't even go inside. David grabbed Ian's hand once he had his bags and dragged him upstairs. There was a continued silence, but it wasn't near as awkward as it was before.

Ian smiled at David, thrilled that his boyfriend was finally back and they could be together again. He leaned in and closed the space between them, kissing him passionately. He missed David more than he ever had before. They usually never spent this much time apart, and it was only a week, but Ian hated being alone. Anthony was there with him, but Anthony would go to Kalel's a lot, and it left Ian alone on Thanksgiving. He was just glad he didn't have to be alone on Christmas too.

* * *

"Coming!" Anthony yelled as he opened the door.

"Hey you!" Kalel smiled, hugging him.

"Hey! You look awesome." Anthony smiled back at her, "I thought we agreed that I was going to pick you up?"

"Ian called and said it would be easier if we all went together the whole ride there." Kalel shrugged, "I assumed he meant that he was really hungry and it wouldn't be a fun ride if he was really hungry."

"That's exactly what it means." Anthony laughed.

"I figured." Kalel smiled, "So, how are you?"

"I'm good." He nodded, "You?"

"Pretty good as well." She looked at him, "Ready for tonight?"

"I am." Anthony walked her into the living room and sat on the couch, "I wore my fancy button down and blazer, only the best." He grinned.

"Are Ian and David ready?"

"I think so." Anthony nodded, "I'll bet that David wore suspenders and Ian ended up erasing all their progress and getting David undressed after that."

"Actually," Ian appeared in the doorway, "that story is false. Yes, David does have suspenders on, and yes, he did look ridiculous good, but no, I did not undress him. I wanted to, but he wouldn't let me."

"Reservations are expensive, Ian." David hobbled around, trying to get his shoe on, "I'm not letting them go to waste because you want to fuck me for the second time today. You can do that after dinner."

"You hear that?" Ian smiled, "I'm getting laid again."

"Congrats." Kalel rolled her eyes, "I'm so proud of you."

"Can I be stereotypical and ask who wears the pants in the relationship if you're both men?" Anthony grinned.

"No." Ian replied, "You can't. Actually, yes. It's me."

"No it's not." David looked at him funny.

"Okay, fine, you wear the pants, but I'm on top."

"Just because you're on top doesn't mean you wear the pants, Ian." David frowned.

Ian looked like he was about to say something else, but Anthony stopped him.

"To the car!" Anthony cheered.

As usual, Ian drove. Anthony was a bit surprised when David reached across and set his hand on top of Ian's lightly, but neither of them said a word. They just sat there, Ian's hand on the stick shift, and David's hand on top of Ian's, lightly lacing their fingers.

No one spoke much on the way there, and no one said much about that fact. It was nice. It cleared Anthony's head and gave him time to think about Kalel. And he did that a lot.

They got to their table and ordered their food fairly quickly.

"I'll be right back." David spoke softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Ian's head.

He got up and left, walking away in a direction that was most definitely not that of the bathroom.

"What's his problem?" Anthony frowned.

Ian shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he needs fresh air."

"Don't be so hopeful."

Kalel sighed, "Calm down, Anthony. Ian's right. David may be the supervising producer of a worldwide news show, but he gets freaked out by being in places with people who seem way more….regal? Fancy? People more elegant than him. He feels overwhelmed because he thinks they're judging him."

Ian got up, "You two have fun. But not too much fun. I'm going to go talk to David."

* * *

Ian had almost no trouble at all finding David and calming him down. He was used to doing the same thing with Anthony. He got a text saying that the food had arrived, and he squeezed David's hand.

"Let's go back inside, okay?"

"Okay." David nodded, standing up and heading back in, "I'm sorry for leaving. I just get nervous under pressure like that."

Ian kissed him gently and sat down in his chair, "Don't be nervous. You're perfect. There's nothing wrong with you."

The look in Anthony's eyes said he thought otherwise.

"No, don't say that." David looked down, chuckling, "I'm not perfect."

"Yes you are, don't lie to yourself."

"I'm not lying to myself, Ian." David mumbled, "Just drop it, please."

"Why don't you tell him that he's perfect too?" Anthony blurted.

Ian felt like sinking back in his seat and disappearing. He was sad that it was impossible to do that.

David narrowed his eyes, "I do tell him that. All the time."

"Does he believe you? Do you believe yourself? I don't think he believes that you really believe that. I think that he feels unloved."

David looked at Ian, "Is that true?"

Ian shook his head, "No, I don't feel unloved, David. I know you love me. You tell me all the time, and I believe you."

To be perfectly honest, Ian was mostly tricking himself into believing that he thought David loved him. He didn't want David to be ashamed of him, but he was worried about things getting really bad between them really soon.

He hoped that proposing would magically solve everything.


	5. Living in the Afterlife

**woo yay another chapter that was fast. i already had this one written. it was really late at night and i got a lot of feels and it just sort of happened. sorry.**

* * *

Living in the Afterlife

Anthony sighed. He couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but Ian and David had been yelling at each other for the past hour, and when Anthony went up to check on them, he was kicked out and yelled at even more, which only sparked a bigger argument. He wanted - so badly - to go up there and help them be happy again, but he knew if he tried again, he'd just get shot down. He figured the best way to help was to stay out of it.

He sat on the couch and began listening to music with noise cancelling headphones. He stretched out on the couch and took a short nap. When he woke up and took his headphones off half an hour later, they were still yelling, but they were a little quieter.

Anthony got up off the couch and went to his room in the basement. He could barely hear them now. He turned on the mini TV he had installed in the top corner of the room, just like the ones at the gym. In fact, his room was practically a gym. All of the fitness equipment that Ian had and didn't use was in the basement, so he moved it all to a good location.

The day was December 20th, which he was shocked to learn. He didn't realize it was this close to Christmas. He shook his head and pulled his shirt off, shrugging into something more comfortable and suiting for a workout. He hated using his big headphones for exercise, so he was glad that he could barely hear them yelling at each other.

When he was done working out, they were still going on. He was so fed up with it that he just punched the punching bag and let out a loud cry, and that did the trick. Ian and David stopped. There was not a sound in the house. Anthony sighed.

No one came downstairs to see how he was. He was a little surprised. He thought that Ian would come down here and ask if he was okay, and then Anthony could distract him from the fight. Instead, their voices slowly escalated back up until they were yelling at each other again.

Anthony had plans to spend the night with Kalel, and they both knew what that meant. Something intimate was supposed to happen, but after the fight, Anthony wasn't sure how much he wanted to do that. He decided to tell her that they were fighting, and that it had killed the mood, but he'd still love to have dinner with her.

As he went upstairs and outside to drive to Kalel's, he could hear them better.

He could pick up a few words.

'Family.'

'Love.'

'Christmas.'

'Ashamed.'

He realized this was all his fault.

* * *

"I don't care, David!" Ian's voice was strained and cracking, half from yelling so much, half from trying not to break down, "Just leave."

He couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Ian-"

"I said get OUT!" He yelled, "And this stupid, worthless piece of shit with you!"

Ian threw the ring box at the wall as hard as he could, making it crack open, causing the ring to fall out. He didn't care anymore. It didn't matter. He wasn't loved. There was no point in having it.

David stared at it, "Ian…."

"Just…." He slumped down and put his head in his hands, "Just get out."

Ian absolutely could not bring himself to even think about looking up and watching David pack his stuff and leave. He sat there with his head in his arms, trying not to show any more emotion. The noise of David zipping and unzipping the pouches on his suitcase and shoving drawers open and slamming them shut made Ian want to die. He'd never been this upset in his entire life. He'd never felt like more of a failure.

After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the door swing open. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping this was all just a bad dream. The footsteps stopped.

"Go." He muttered, "Just go."

It had all happened so fast. They were perfectly fine and Ian was almost ready to ask David to spend the rest of his life with him, and then it immediately went all wrong. It went straight to hell. He wanted to curl up and die.

No one was here to help him. Anthony was moving in with Kalel tomorrow, and Ian would be by himself. He didn't know how long it would be until Anthony came back, but he really didn't care right now. He only cared about one thing. He only wanted one thing.

Ian planned on spending Christmas with his future husband, and now, he was going to spend Christmas alone.

Alone was the one thing Ian didn't want to be.

* * *

Anthony came home and found David's car missing. The lights were still on, meaning Ian was probably still home. Something just felt wrong. He frowned and rushed inside.

"Ian?" Anthony called.

There was no answer.

"Ian!"

Anthony walked to Ian's room. The door was open and the lights were on. He entered slowly and found Ian curled up in a ball in the corner. Several drawers were open and empty, and clothes were everywhere. There was a small dent in the wall. Looking below it, Anthony saw a small, velvet black box. A thin gold ring with its own small dent was lying on the carpet, inches away from its container.

Panic gripped Anthony as he realized Ian wasn't moving. He rushed over to his side and and felt his neck for a pulse. He sighed, relieved, when he found that there was one. The fear of Ian being dead was too much for him.

Trying to be as gentle as possible, Anthony shook Ian awake.

"Anthony?" He frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"I wasn't in the mood for sex, so I-"

"David's gone."

"He's gone?" Anthony looked at Ian.

"For good."

"Oh, Ian…." He frowned, gently putting an arm around his best friend's shoulder, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." Ian looked at the ground, "I don't care. He didn't love me."

"Don't say that." Anthony looked at him, "David loved you more than anything and you know that."

"Well obviously he didn't." Ian put his head in his arms, "He didn't want to tell his parents we were together. He didn't even want me to tell my parents. You were right. He was awful. He didn't care about me and you knew it. Why didn't I believe you?"

"We went over this already, Ian." Anthony sighed, "But please don't blame yourself. This is my fault. If I hadn't brought it up, you wouldn't have panicked."

Ian mumbled, "And you were right. He would just end up breaking my heart. I should've listened to you."

Anthony could tell Ian was hurting, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He sat next to Ian in silence until he was sure Ian was asleep. He gently picked him up and set him in his bed. Anthony turned the light out and went to his own bed.

The next morning, Kalel got there earlier than Anthony had expected.

He rushed upstairs as soon as he heard the door open.

"David?" She sounded happy, "Da-"

Anthony covered her mouth, "Don't ever say that name in this house ever again."

"What?" She frowned, "Why?"

He leaned in close, "He….he and Ian broke up last night. Don't bring him up around Ian, okay?"

"Oh, that's awful." She sighed, "I'll talk to him about it if you want me to."

"It's alright." Anthony frowned, "He hurt Ian. We don't want anything to do with him anymore."

Kalel nodded, "So….do you want to stay here with Ian or what?"

Anthony shook his head, "I think Ian needs to be alone. We'd upset him too much, you know? He'd get too nostalgic if he saw a couple, and especially since it's us."

She frowned, "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Did you pack?"

"Thank god I did, too. I don't think Ian could deal with those noises."

"You ready to leave then?"

"Yeah." He said, wheeling the suitcase into Kalel's car, "I'm going to check on Ian real quick, I'll be back soon. Just wait here. I don't know how long it'll take."

"I understand."

Anthony went upstairs and knocked on the door softly, "Hey, Ian? You awake?"

Ian nodded slowly, turning to face Anthony, "Yeah. I'm up."

* * *

As much as he wanted to curl up and cry, Ian put on his big boy pants and manned up. He wouldn't show Anthony, Kalel, or even David how much he was hurting inside.

"Are you moving out today?" Ian grumbled, getting out of bed and walking past Anthony.

"Um…." Anthony seemed confused, "Yeah. I am."

"Alright, well, get to it then."

"What happened last night?" Anthony looked at him, "You seem….okay."

Ian shrugged, "I'm out of college. I'm a man now. I need to be strong and move on. I'm sure there's someone else out there."

He hated the taste of those words on his tongue. It was like poison. Well, not poison, but something that tastes delicious at first, but leaves a rotten after taste in your mouth.

"Okay." Anthony said slowly, "Well, my stuff is in Kalel's car and breakfast is in the kitchen."

"Make sure to come visit me every now and then." Ian smiled weakly, "I'll be awfully lonely."

Anthony nodded, "I promise."

Promises meant nothing anymore.


End file.
